The Body Adorned - Horniman Museum

Whilst visiting London/Horley recently, the Churchills and I visited the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill before our own exhibition in Bermondsey. I had previously visited the museum back in June 2010 with Katie but the particular draws this time were the current temporary exhibition 'The Body Adorned: Dressing London' and the fact it was Katie's birthday! As the title of the exhibition suggests both body adornment and body modification were the focus, with a wide range of each on display and all of it captivated me especially the headwear but also the full outfits and garments, such as the seal gut parka. What was (unsurprisingly) immediately noticeable to me was the abundance of animal based adornment and by that I mean both the actual use of animal parts for decoration or just as an influence on patterns etc. This was no end of inspiration and again reaffirms the importance of nature in anthropology as all the cultures of all continents can be historically united through flora and fauna. The traditional half to the exhibition is intended as a window into London's evolution of body adornment and how Londoners originally learnt of and viewed the vast range of peoples dressing the body around the world, though as contemporary viewers we can now identify much of this as politically incorrect or racist. However, past the horn bill headdresses, kimono and puffer fish/coconut attire, we are presented with contemporary London and the dressing habits therein. You can also find one large screen in front of four smaller ones, each playing a looped video of a static people on various London streets and most of which are accompanied by a vox pop on their outlook of the way they dress. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and found it very insightful, especially through its intention of encouraging visitors to really think about clothing and all the other aspects of how we present and define our own image. 

'Ultimately we invite you to look at how you dress your body and why.'

Images by KLV

'The exhibtion features a specially commissioned film by the innovative, internationally renowned filmmakers and designers The Light Surgeons.'

Forage

The Bermondsey based exhibition 'Urbandsey' took place on 14th April and as the name suggests it followed an 'urban' theme. As a follow up to my 'Ancestors' collection from the previous exhibition (see here for the images) Open/Closed, I modified a set of men's hats with natural materials that I scavenged from my local area and from this the name 'Forage' was born. The key materials were fox bones, wood pigeon feathers, a dead sparrow, faux fur and foliage. My intention was to give this urban associated headwear a feral edge, these pieces can be seen as both a signifier of the rural reclaiming the urban but also the rural bending to the will of the urban. In either case these hats are neither one or the other and a possible ideology of the balance between human and nature. 

Cervid

Cervid was constructed on a sports cap with final shape, and materials used, being reminiscent of some form of hunting attire. With a cervid being the name of an animal from the deer family, combined with mammal inspired qualities and especially the antlers, it seemed an appropriate name and acts as a representative for fur and mammals in this collection. A transgression from the leather to fur and finally the deer head.

Columba 

This was the first hat I completed out of the four, comprising of wood pigeon feathers and one of two dead sparrows I have. The name derives from the genus of 'typical pigeon' that includes the species that provided the feathers, reconstructed from singular findings to form a bird like entity. Through Cervid we have the covering of the head in fur and leather, with Columba it is feather that takes the centre stage and an to show the more refined look of the pigeon.

Vertebrae 

This bowler hat has been adorned with my most important materials that border on spiritual, a fox spine that I found almost in the state you see it though there were several cleaning processes inbetween of course. The human race has historically used and continues to use bone in body adornment all over the planet, so bringing this tradition into the urban setting is satisfying for me. Also important to this design are the highly symbolic connotations of the fox as an animal with associations as the trickster, fire bringer or creature of the afterlife. As a final point, you will frequently see examples of the fox taking on human qualities or the the creature actually transforming into a man in popular culture. With this my hat is a result of urban meets rural, human meets animal. 

Strobilus 

 The final hat, another sports cap, is based around the true name for pine cone - Strobilus. The Strobilus or Megastrobilus is the female sexual organ of the conifer tree, so in affect I have constructed a mohawk shape of plant genitalia. This ties in with the notion of Mother Nature and the reproduction of plant life to take back the urban should the time of humans pass, with the buds of other trees and bushes beginning to emerge.

 

All Images and Headwear by KLV

In my Country

Daniel Stier has formed this intimate exploration of immigration in London, representing the need for individuals to keep their national identity but at the same time intergrating into the wider community. The traditional costume is visually contrasted with the often bleak urban background 'as a bastion of cultural resistance in a globalised world which tends to flatten anything distinctive.' It also provides a sense of humanity to the subject of immigration, which can often be controversial.